


Have You Tried Turning It Off and Then Turning It Back On Again?

by Sorida



Series: Tales From the Vale...s? [5]
Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Everybody Dies, M/M, Multiple times, Time is Weird, and then comes back to life, idk what i was trying to accomplish, pure crack and informal writing, swtiches between past and present tense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-08
Updated: 2015-07-08
Packaged: 2018-04-08 06:51:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4294842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sorida/pseuds/Sorida
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Night Vale has a lot of AUs.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Have You Tried Turning It Off and Then Turning It Back On Again?

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for being super inactive. I wanted to write tonight, but I just wanted to do a quick little oneshot. I may be uploading the other one because Deemo really got some thoughts going but for now, just have this nonsense.

Night Vale was messed up. Like, really messed up. As in, "even the universe thought this place was a mistake amidst the ninety-nine other problems it was dealing with, but somehow had the time to focus on this one MONUMENTAL problem" kind of way. You know, just really, _really_ bad.

So the Masters of Everything and whatever heavenly hierarchy worked together and made sure this pocket of wrongness stayed, for the most part, out of harm's way. We say "for the most part" because, well, it's Night Vale. It's riddled with death and destruction and chaos and ugh, a severe lack of toast. But all of this stays in its own pocket about a dimension and a half away from the rest of humanity. It's chance to even find, but then again, you don't find Night Vale. Night Vale finds you.

In those days of old, a power was bestowed onto (possibly) the most spiritually pure of the inhabitants. The one that truly meant no harm, the one who loved. The one who may actually use the power for the good of the town rather than the perceived good brought on by corruption. This Voice, as it soon became known as, held complete jurisdiction over the town. But wait, how would one rule out human greed and distrust? Oh, you didn't, but you tried! And so the next best thing happened: the Voice was possessed by someone who just didn't want those things. If there's one thing a proper Host must want, it is love and to be loved.

I think you see what we're getting at.

Cecil Palmer. Age: Unknown. He's been the Voice of Night Vale for about forty years, give or take. He hasn't aged a day past his early thirties. Perhaps, he thinks, it's normal. Perhaps time passes like this for everyone, that the average life expectancy in Night Vale (that is, if you're not killed by something beyond your control) is well into the five hundreds and by those standards, he's quite young. Almost too young for this job. But that's ok, he gained confidence from reporting and surviving the conditions of Night Vale during World War II. He lived through every horrendous event up until that point and that, he figured, was something to be proud of. But the year is 1983 and bad things happen in 1983.

Remember that whole "pocket dimension" thing we mentioned earlier? Well, it's super unstable. That's why time is so weird. That's why it's so chaotic. Reality cannot get a firm handhold in this strange little town. Every atom collapses in on itself and then reforms in a matter of nanoseconds. Everything destroys itself and then comes right back into existence because that is where it is. It's meant to be in a town that isn't meant to exist. Make sense? Probably not. Let's use a real-world example:

The orcas from SeaWorld. The orcas should not and should never have been in captivity. Yet they are. But it's destroying them. The oldest orca in SeaWorld has killed two performers during the act and wounded many others. That orca's mind has been broken and it's so very sad. Yet, what can we do? It's in SeaWorld and that is where it will stay. Forever. And like it or not, that is where fate has ordained it to be. (Please go watch the documentary Blackfish.)

Nothing in Night Vale really belongs in Night Vale. Night Vale shouldn't exist, but it does and it finds those who also shouldn't exist. We'll get to Carlos the Scientist in a moment. But the year is still 1983 and things are still going wrong in 1983.

Those little combustions and creations take their toll. In 1983, everything begins to collapse. Night Vale begins to tear itself apart. Citizens begin dying. They die terrible, horrible deaths even beyond the regular horrors of the little desert community. Yet the eye of the storm lays just above the radio station, where a lone figure continues his broadcast. He sees so much death that towards the end of the broadcast, his words become slurred and he can't talk into the microphone properly. His face is buried in his arms as he watches Josie Ortiz burn. He chokes out a "no" as Earl Harlan flickers out of existence for the last time. He gives up on finishing the broadcast when there is nothing left but the station and the surrounding Void.

He cries and curses and doesn't understand why this has happened, why his precious home and family and friends have been destroyed so thoroughly in front of him. He wants it all to stop. He wants to turn back the clock. He wants to save his town, but what's a radio host supposed to do? He's an observer, not a doer. He's not supposed to do things, that's the number one rule of journalism. That, and don't consume raw snake meats because ew, why would you?

Through the tears and crumbling of the remaining semi-stable point in Night Vale, the Voice snarls in agitation. How dare the universe take this place away from it? How dare it try to sever its ties to the one place it could ever manifest? It's not fair. It won't allow this to happen.

As the final walls of the booth collapse, the Voice locks Cecil away. The Host cannot know what is about to happen, can't begin to understand the existence of Night Vale. The information would surely kill him or at least, shatter his mind. The Voice can't have that, it rather likes this Host.

With a hand that does not belong to it, the Voice grabs the microphone. Gravity goes askew and things are floating around the room before disappearing into the Void. There is almost nothing but Void, but this does not deter the Voice. With some well-placed words and a clever trick of the tongue, everything freezes. Everything hovers in limbo. And then...

The broadcast is approaching the Weather. The Disaster of The Day has been averted. Cecil huns a familiar tune as he walks back to his apartment, content in the knowledge that this was, by far, his best broadcast.

The year is 1983. Night Vale is doing fine.

That was the biggest reset to date. Of course, other things come after that, but nothing as big as rebooting the entire town. There's Leonard Burton's untimely demise, but that is quickly rectified. You see, the Voice wasn't completely thorough in its reboot. Somehow, its Host found the knowledge of a reset quite useful. The Voice doesn't know or why Cecil remembered this information, but it makes nothing of it. Cecil has a gentle soul. Everything is fine.

But Leonard's death triggered...something. Alternate universes became parallel universes. Parallel universes merged with the true universe. The Smiling God is not an ancient entity, the Voice scoffs. With full control of the Host, it could eradicate the existence of the deity. But it would cost the Host and Cecil is not ready to make that kind of sacrifice. Things become stranger and the Voice fears reseting Night Vale once again. Reality was fixed in 1983. The Voice fixed Reality so that Reality reflected Night Vale. As in, Reality in Night Vale would eternally be screwed up, thus making Reality function as it should in a Night Valian sense. Kind of.

However, now _Time_ was broken, more so than before. Night Vale fell behind the rest of the universe. The technology kept advancing to reflect the years, but 2012 in Night Vale was 2015 to the rest of the world. A lone scientist came out to explore the issue. His name was Carlos. He came alone. Or rather, Night Vale made him come alone. The scientist wasn't regarded seriously. He had theories about parallel universes and alternate dimensions. He'd been trying to get funding, but no luck. That is, until the Voice influenced enough people and gave Carlos exactly what he was looking for. And Cecil?

Cecil did not fall in love instantly.

He was wary of the man, didn't trust him that much. Carlos, the scientist that he was, paid Cecil no mind. He took his readings and tried to solve the mystery of the dimension. The Voice regarded him with amusement, for not even it fully understood things to come. Still, it was curious of the scientist's findings and after Leonard's death (and forgotten reset), it needed to know if another reboot was in order.

So against its Host's wishes, the Voice urged him to pursue the scientist. Cecil resisted, but logic won out in the end. The Voice trilled in victory, reveling in the unhappy grumbles coming from its Host.

Over the months, Cecil's heart softened. He began looking forward to weekly meetings with the scientist, helping this Carlos make sense of recordings and adding input of what was normal for Night Vale. The two grew closer and closer until the Voice began regretting its decision. Not for the love-making it had to deal with, but for the heartbreak that would soon follow.

It knew the patterns. From Carlos' extensive testing on the town, it could read the signs. Time had degraded Reality so much that a reboot was fast approaching. It withheld this information from its Host, knowing what the cost would be for the town and the Outsider. After all, it wouldn't make sense for the Voice to have jurisdiction over someone outside of its realm of control.

As Time finally gave out, Night Vale entered an eternal standstill. Cecil had enough residual knowledge to remember the focal point of the collapse and brought Carlos into the studio for their last broadcast. With the Void fast approaching on the horizon, tears once again made their way down Cecil's face.

"I've been alone for so long," he said, gently pressing his forehead against Carlos'. "But this...all of this makes up for it. If anything, I'm happy my last moments are with you."

Carlos was the one to initiate the kiss. Cecil had initiated most things in their relationship. Cecil had asked Carlos out, resulting in a deep blush and a breathy "Yes!" from the scientist. Cecil suggested they move in together. Cecil gave the first kiss.

Now, it was Carlos' turn to start something. He had a ring, containing a chip of what looked like obsidian surrounded by amber studs. A diamond wouldn't do Cecil justice, nor were there diamonds to be found in Night Vale. But Cecil squealed all the same, tackling the scientist for all it was worth and shouting "Yes, yes, yes!" to the Void nearly surrounding them, wishing to snuff them from existence.

The Voice acted quickly. It acted rashly. It needed to save this love, this happiness between its Host and the Interloper. The fierce need to protective and preserve took over as it took control of its Host once again and reached for the mic.

As it spoke, the Void destroyed the room faster than before. Carlos moved closer to Cecil as the inky depths licked at his shoes. The Voice spoke faster, laying down the foundations of Night Vale, reaffirming that Reality was Strange and Time Wasn't Real. It reworked the lives of each and every citizen, of the City Council, even of the Void above.

But it couldn't speak fast enough.

Within the last line of foundation, Carlos was lost to the Void. By some great mercy, Cecil would never remember. But the Voice always would. It watched with terror, mouth still moving despite everything, and looked into equally fearful eyes. Carlos was not part of the foundation. The scientist had reached out and the Voice tried to meet those deceptively soft hands, but to no avail. The Void was unforgiving as it ate away at Carlos and all the Voice could do was desperately work Carlos into the foundation. Night Vale had rebooted before, everything being consumed by the Void could be returned. But the Voice couldn't take that risk with an Outsider. Not with this one.

The Voice looked at Carlos as it spoke, ignoring the way the Void was taking its sweet time, savoring taking away something so important from the supposedly omnipotent force of Night Vale. Carlos looked back, perhaps in fear, and truly listened to the words coming out of Cecil's mouth.

**You will remember Night Vale. You will wonder how the world works, be intrigued by its mysteries. You will find Night Vale. The town in the desert will intrigue you to no end. After all, no scientific team has recorded any conclusive results on it. You will return here and Cecil Palmer will love you. He will remember the love he shared with you so you may start anew in a better world, in a better time.**

Carlos had smiled as the words were said. Yet the words were not said quickly enough. Before the Voice could solidify the command, Carlos had vanished. It nearly broke professionalism, nearly cried out in agony and damned the Void, erased the Void from this existence. But the full commands weren't finished and the Voice would salvage what it could. Carlos would remember Night Vale, remember the science, and remember the passion. Yet Cecil would remain forgotten. How to fix this...oh, how to fix this.

**Cecil Palmer will not remember Carlos the Scientist. When the scientist returns, he will remember the love. He will share his heart with Carlos, open what was once closed. And they will fall in love and they will be together.**

There was a chance that the command wouldn't set. There was always a chance for failure. After all, this was only the second reboot. But hopefully, the universe would be kind this one time, allow its Host happiness. Because after everything, its Host deserved this happiness.

Just before the Void could take away the Host, the Voice ended the commands and begged the Masters of Us All for a miracle.

**Goodnight Night Vale, Goodnight.**

* * *

The year is 2012. There is a new Dog Park opening at the corner of Earl and Somerset. It has high obsidian gates, something that truly captures Cecil's attention. He's always had a fondness for obsidian.

A new man comes into town that day. Who is he? What does he want? Why his perfect and beautiful hair? Why his perfect and beautiful coat?

And as Cecil's confusion and infatuation makes themselves known, the Voice smiles. Carlos came back. The command took. When the system crashes, reboot it.

Hopefully, there were no loose ends this time. Although, the Voice pondered, something must have been forgotten. A deity, perhaps?

**Author's Note:**

> I hope this was enjoyable/interesting! Also, this was me kind of solidifying my headcanons for how the Voice works and what [Best Of?] means in terms of trying to keep continuity together (hahahahaha what continuity? Nobody knows). I don't think I phrased things that clearly though and the whole bit with Carlos took me for a spin, so please ask questions and stuff if you want me to clarify something.
> 
> Thanks for reading and I do hope you enjoyed this. :)


End file.
